21世纪大学英语读写教程2readingaloud课文及翻译

"Very hesitantly I selected a tube of blue paint, and with infinite precaution made a mark about as big as a bean on the snow-white field. At that moment I heard the sound of a motorcar in the drive and threw down my brush in a panic. I was even more alarmed when I saw who stepped from the car: the wife of Sir John Lavery, the celebrated painter who lived nearby.“我迟疑不决地选了一管蓝色颜料，然后小心翼翼地在雪白的底子上的画上蚕

豆般大小的一笔。就在这时，我听到车道上传来一辆汽车的声音，于是一份耕耘，一份收获答案只是参考，请大家努力自学惊恐地丢下我的画笔。当我看清是谁从汽车里走出来时，更是惊慌失措。来者正是住在附近的着名画家约翰?莱佛利爵士的妻子。

"'Painting!' she declared. 'What fun. But what are you waiting for? Let me have the brush — the big one.' She plunged into the paints and before I knew it, she had swept several fierce strokes and slashes of blue on the absolutely terrified canvas. Anyone could see it could not hit back. I hesitated no more. I seized the largest brush and fell upon my wretched victim with wild fury. I have never felt any fear of a canvas since."

‘在画画呢!’她大声说道。‘多么有趣。可你还在等什么呢? 把画笔给我---大的那支。’她猛地用笔蘸起颜料，还没等我缓过神来，她已经挥笔泼墨在惊恐不已的画布上画下了有力的几道蓝色。谁都看得出画布无法回击。我不再迟疑。我抓起那支最大的画笔，迅猛异常地向我可怜的牺牲品扑了过去。自那以后，我再也不曾害怕过画布。”

This belief in hard work is the first of three main factors contributing to Asian students' outstanding performance. It springs from Asians' common heritage of Confucianism, the philosophy of the 5th-century-BC Chinese sage whose teachings have had a profound influence on Chinese society. One of Confucius's primary teachings is that through effort, people can perfect themselves.

这种对于勤奋的信念是促成亚洲学生成绩突出

的三大要素中的第一个。它来源于亚洲人共同的儒教传统即公元前5世纪那位中国圣人的哲学思想他的教义对中国社会产生了深远的影响。

孔夫子的主要教义之一是人们通过努力能够

完善自我。

Confucianism provides another important ingredient in the Asians' success as well. In Confucian philosophy, the family plays a central role — an orientation that leads people to work for the honor of the family, not just for themselves. One can never repay one's parents, and there's a sense of obligation or even guilt that is as strong a force among Asians as Protestant philosophy is in the West.

儒教也为亚洲人的成功提供了另一个要素。在孔夫子的哲学中家庭起着最重要的作用----这

种定向引导人们为家庭的荣誉而学习工作而

不仅仅是为了他们自己。一个人永远无法报答他的父母而且在亚洲人中间还有一种责任感、乃至负罪感这是一种如同新教哲学在西方一样

的强大力量。

The first cultural translator I ever met was an installation engineer, George by name, who worked for an American company where I was the director of international operations.

The company had just started a joint venture with a Japanese firm, and the American management needed someone to train the Japanese employees in its unique technology. George's solid understanding of the equipment, its installation and use made him the best-qualified employee for the job, so everyone was happy when George accepted a two-year contract for temporary transfer to Japan.

我遇到的第一位文化翻译是一位设备安装工程

师名叫乔治他在一家我担任国际业务部主

任的美国公司里工作。这家公司刚同一家日本商社开办了一家合资企业美方管理部门需要

有人在它的独特技术方面培训日本雇员。乔治对设备及其安装和使用的透彻了解使他成为最能

胜任这项工作的雇员所以当乔治接受了暂时调往日本的一份两年期合同时大家都很高兴。

From the start, George was well accepted by all the Japanese employees. Japanese managers often distrust anyone sent to represent US owners, but George was so naturally nonassertive that no one could see him as a threat to their careers. So they felt comfortable asking his advice on a wide range of matters, including the odd behavior of